Levoscoliosis and Dextroscoliosis: An Overview

Scoliosis is described in two ways, depending on the direction the spine curves: levoscoliosis (spinal curve to the left) or dextroscoliosis (spinal curve to the right). You can have one or more curves of the spine of varying curvature, and each curve can involve a small or large area of the spine.

Scoliosis can affect the cervical, thoracic, and/or lumbar portions of the spine.

Dextroscoliosis vs. Levoscoliosis

To diagnose the direction of your lateral spinal curve, your healthcare provider will determine the direction of the spinal column deviation from the midline of your body. In people with a straight spine, the column is generally located at the midline area.

Scoliosis symptoms, based on postural changes, point toward the diagnosis. Levoscoliosis refers to a spinal curvature that bows out to the left. If the spinal column deviates to the left relative to the midline of the body, the curve would be diagnosed as levoscoliosis.

In a similar way, dextroscoliosis symptoms are based on spinal curvature to the right.

Levoscoliosis

When you first look at the image above, the curve might appear as if it is going to the right side. This may be because the patient is side bending to the right as a result of the bones of the spine having moved away from the midline and towards the left.

Because the spinal bones are left of center, the patient's spinal balance is interrupted, and the person tends to drop over, or side bend, to the right. In this way, the patient finds the best possible support for upright posture, given the fact that they are dealing with a levoscoliosis.

Due to routine posture and movement habits over time, the muscles on either side of the levoscoliosis may weaken and tighten, eventually keeping the posture in a side bend.

So if you see the spine move to the left, as it does in this diagram and in the picture that follows, it could mean that the curve is going to the left.

A levoscoliosis can appear as if a person is deliberately bending. In this instance of levoscoliosis, the curve is in the lower back.

Experts suggest that left thoracic spine curves have a slightly higher tendency to be associated with diseases, while right thoracic curves are more likely to develop in the absence of disease.

However, every case of scoliosis deserves a thorough assessment to determine the underlying cause. Issues like the age of scoliosis onset and other underlying medical conditions should help guide additional testing.

It also will help to determine appropriate treatment, such as surgery.

Dextroscoliosis

Dextroscoliosis is a spinal column that bows out to the patient's right. Dextroscoliosis symptoms include the body's tendency to side bend to the left, and may vary in terms of how serious the condition is or may become.

Most of the time, a dextroscoliosis occurs in the thoracic spine.

Diagnosis

An X-ray is an important part of diagnosing scoliosis and determining the location and extent of spine misalignment, as well as informing dextroscoliosis treatment.

In the X-ray above, there is an area of dextroscoliosis and an area of levoscoliosis. In this image of an X-ray, the thoracic spine (top part) shows a dextroscoliosis, and the lumbar spine (bottom part) shows a levoscoliosis.